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Master key systems for Halifax buildings and businesses
With a master key system, everyone carries a single key that opens their own doors and nothing else, while managers carry a key that opens more. We design the levels with you, pin the locks to match, and keep track of which key went to whom.
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What is a master key system?
It is a set of locks pinned so that each one opens with its own key and with one or more higher-level keys. A tenant or staff member's key opens only their doors, a group key opens a section such as one floor, and the master opens every lock in the system.
How the levels work
Picture a ring of twelve keys replaced by one. Each lock in the building is pinned to accept its own key plus the keys above it in the plan. Someone renting a flat opens their unit and the main entrance. The cleaner opens hallways, the laundry room and the supply closet. The building manager opens everything. Nobody carries more than they need, and nobody can open what isn't theirs.
Where we see them in Halifax
- Houses converted into flats: common on the peninsula and in older parts of Dartmouth. One key per unit, a shared front door, and a manager key for the basement, the meter room and the storage cages.
- Apartment and condo buildings: suites, entrances, parkades, bike rooms and mechanical rooms, with a caretaker master and group keys for contractors.
- Offices and clinics: a key for each office, group keys for shared rooms like file storage, and a master for whoever opens and closes.
- Shops and workshops: front, stockroom and back door on separate keys, so each person opens only the areas their job needs.
The plan comes before the locks
We start with a list of every door and every person who needs to get through it, then sketch out the levels on paper. Only then do we touch a lock. You receive a key schedule that shows which key opens which door. Store it securely, because it is effectively the map of your building.
Keeping keys under control
A master system is only as secure as its key count. With restricted keyways, extra copies come through us with your written authorisation, not from a kiosk at the mall. We keep a record of every key issued, so when a tenant moves out or an employee leaves, you know exactly which key to collect or which locks to rekey.
Where to go next
Book a walk-through of the building. You see the plan and the price before any lock is changed, as set out in our price promise. Master keying sits within our commercial locksmith work; if people come and go often, compare it with access control. Property managers can open an account on the landlords page. We work across Halifax, Dartmouth and the communities on our areas page.
Where we go
Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford and out across HRM. See every community we cover; the real timing is given on the phone.
Questions people ask
- Are master key systems secure?
- They are when the keys are controlled. A planned system with keys that can't be copied at a hardware store, plus a record of who holds each one, is much safer than a drawer full of unlabelled spares.
- What if someone loses the master key?
- Every lock it opens has to be rekeyed. That is why the master goes to as few people as possible and every copy is recorded.
- We already have a system. Can you add doors to it?
- Often, as long as we can work out how it was built. If the original records are gone, we survey the locks and plan the additions from what we find.
- Would access control suit us better?
- If staff or tenants change often, or you need a log of who opened which door and when, card or fob access may be the better fit. We tell you which one suits your building.
Book a time, or ask a question.
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